OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Rank-and-file wrestler Takayasu seized the outright lead in a top-of-the-table battle with ozeki Onosato on Tuesday at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, where the action inside the ring was overshadowed by the withdrawal of newly promoted yokozuna Hoshoryu.

Fighting as a No. 4 maegashira, 35-year-old former ozeki Takayasu improved to 9-1 as he forced out two-time Emperor's Cup winner Onosato (8-2), with whom he shared the lead coming into Day 10 at Edion Arena Osaka.

Sumo fans earlier in the day were stunned by the announcement that Hoshoryu will not return to the 15-day meet after being diagnosed with elbow and neck injuries.

The 25-year-old Mongolian dropped to 5-5 after forfeiting against No. 5 maegashira Ura (4-6) and becomes the first grand champion to pull out of his top-rank debut tournament since Futahaguro in September 1986.

In the day's most anticipated bout, Takayasu held his ground against Onosato's initial charge and found an opening for the winning move after the young star made the mistake of trying to pull the veteran off balance.

"I'm just here to do my best and make sure I give a good performance," said Takayasu, gunning for his first Emperor's Cup after coming close several times. "I'll just keep trying to do more of the same."

Onosato now shares second spot on the leaderboard with No. 6 maegashira Takerufuji and No. 14 maegashira Churanoumi, both of whom took care of rank-and-file opponents.

Demotion-threatened "kadoban" ozeki Kotozakura (5-5) continued to struggle, getting slapped down by No. 4 maegashira Ichiyamamoto (6-4), who beat Hoshoryu a day earlier and is looking to improve on an 8-7 performance in January.

"I just want to put up a slightly better number, but as long as it's a winning record, I'll be happy," Ichiyamamoto said.

Kotozakura, who made his ozeki debut a year ago in Osaka, needs three more wins to avoid demotion.